Now that we’ve finished with this small discussions of the planets and the houses, let’s look at a mundane chart and just begin to fill in the outline of the delineation so you can see how this process works.

Here is the chart of the Aries Ingress of this year, cast for Washington, DC. Let’s look at it and see what we get.

&&&This chart has the Sun in the 2nd house (at 0 Aries obviously), the Moon on the 9th house cusp (using the Porphyry house system) at 1 Libra 29, the Ascendant at 13 Capricorn 58, and the Midheaven at 7 Scorpio 14. The mood or personality of the country will be conservative during this next year, the Ascendant is in Capricorn, Saturn ruled and therefore we’re not going to be too extravagant in the next year. The Sun is in the 2nd house of Money and Resources and that is going to bring a lot of emphasis in that area for the year. The ruler of the Ascendant is in the Fourth house of Family and Land so that is where their attention will be placed.

The Midheaven is at 7 Scorpio. This always represents the Head of State and with the sign of Pluto-driven Scorpio there, much secrecy is in store for us. Since this is an election year, I would not think that to be too much out of the ordinary. Presidents and politicians are always trying to get reelected; in this case one is trying to get his Vice President elected. Neptune is making a square to the MC, maybe just clouding the view of the President a little bit. It may be that what he thinks he sees and what actually sees might not be exactly the same things. Jupiter is opposite the MC and conjunct the IC or the Fourth House cusp. Jupiter is the Ruler of the Second house intercepted. There could be trouble with the courts or judges over money or morality but with Clinton there we already knew that didn’t we? What the chart tells is just a reinforcement of what is actually happening.

The Moon represents the People in the chart and in this case we see it at 1 Libra conjunct the 9th house cusp. This puts the mood of the people in a pretty lofty place. The people (Moon) are aware of other countries and of the courts (9th house). The people usually go towards the lowest common denominator but in this year their focus is going to be higher than usual. It can also mean that there may be an increased interest in Sports and Athletics, another thing that the Ninth rules. With the Olympics coming up this year, it may be a bigger success than the Winter ones were two years ago. Which is good news if you happen to be NBC.

Mercury is the mental condition of the country and it communicates with itself. In this chart Mercury is at 4 Pisces 10 in the Second House with the Sun, but in the sign before it. In this particular chart, since it’s nocturnal, Virgo is the ruler of Mercury, and the entire sign of Virgo is intercepted in the 8th house. Again this reinforces the whole tenor of the chart of being conservative and interested in the fundamentals of the financial markets. In the Eighth the Virgo/Mercury synergy just moves to other peoples money, and that makes for a lot of interest in the insurance and financial industries as they deal with other peoples money. Mercury in Pisces is also in the opposite sign of Virgo, one of the rulers of Mercury, and therefore Mercury is in its detriment. This will reduce the power of Mercury in the chart and add some general confusion to things too. You may know that finances and markets are important but realize that you’ve got a lot more to learn about them.

Venus is what we’re attracted to in a mundane chart. Here it’s also in Pisces and in the Second house also with the Sun and is actually Conjunct Mercury. In a night chart Venus rules Taurus, which is on the Fourth House Cusp. With the ruler of the Fourth in the Second there will be a appreciation of the value of property and Venus is in the house that it would rule in a natural wheel, so Venus well placed in the chart. This makes for an emphasized attraction to material things for the whole country during this year.

In a Mundane chart Mars stands for War and also in weather predicting it signifies that there will be hot weather if you’re under the influence of Mars. In this chart Mars is 27 Aries 59 and in the Third House of Communications. So watch out for arguments during this time, it can seem that everyone is on a short fuse especially when you’re dealing with your brothers or sisters.

Jupiter is the Great Benefic and it is in Taurus and the Third House. Its in a loose conjunction with Mars so it may well be that the attitude of Mars, which is very outgoing, may well connect with the expansiveness of Jupiter and make us all a little bit more argumentative, especially about things that have to do with philosophy, religion or metaphysics. Also you can watch out for people who are going to be trying to “dummy down” some of the higher philosophical principles and make them a little bit easier to understand during this time. This practice of trying to reduce or distill information can sometimes just lead to confusion in that the people don’t do a good enough job at that. So just be aware that it can happen.

Saturn is the last planet my list for this article. Where ever Saturn appears in a chart is where things will be the most cautious. Saturn is not going to be rushing forward into anything. In this chart, it happens to be in the sign of Taurus, the money sign. So people will be a little bit more conservative with their spending while Saturn is in that sign. Deals and values will be the things that people will look for. Quality or quantity is another way of saying what the issues for Saturn in Taurus are like. Saturn in the Fourth House in a mundane chart has to do with family and the home. Patriotism is another of the things that the Fourth brings into a mundane chart. So watch for things to become a little bit more dogmatic along political lines. It’s also in its detriment by house, because it naturally rules the Tenth house. This could well turn into a time when people could lose their homes to bad investments or get-rich-quick schemes, so beware of “betting the farm” during this time.

In the work that I do I usually get enough information with the planets from the Sun through Saturn. The traditional planets as they are called. So I am leaving out Uranus, Neptune and Pluto.

In my delineation of this chart I may have missed some things that you found or have put in things that you have missed in your interpretation. Astrology is a highly subjective art and it all depends on how well the person reading the chart has internalized the planetary principles in themselves. So if you gave this same chart to 50 astrologers you would get 50 different readings. Although there are some things that might be read similarly, there are always going to be differences in the reading of the chart. I hope that this has helped you in understanding mundane astrology just a little. If you have any questions or comments on what I’ve covered here you can write me at tom@thenewage.com.